Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-10-14
THE EFFECTS OF CROSSES.
BY ALLEN W. THOMPSON.


The more good crosses an animal pos
sesses, the more certain it is to produce
valuable stock, and this is why the stock
of thoroughbred is better than the stock
of one that is not thoroughbred. A horse
to be thoroughbred must inherit six pure
crosses a mare, five. A horse will leave
more of his blood than a mare, and that
Is why he must be the highest bred.
Though the rule is that horse must pos
sess six pure crosses to be thoroughbred,
yet the more pure crosses he possesses
the better.
Thus horse with six pure crosses will
be more certain to transmit his good quail
ities than one with but four, though the
one with but four pure crosses may in a
race beat the one with six. The same
rule will prove true, that horse with
ten pure crosses will be better sire than
one with but six.
This law of nature, of heredity and
transmission, can be seen in the COW. The
calves of a cow whose ancestors, for
number of generations back, were re-
markable for their butter qualities, will
prove much better than those of a COW
whose ancestors were not as good, though
the COW with poor pedigree may make
as much butter as the one with good one.
The trotting horse whose pedigree shows
the most crosses of the best trOtting
blood will be the one to transmit the
most speed.
The law of heredity and transmission
shows itself in regard to soundness and
unsoundness. The horse whose ancestors
were remarkable for soundness and en-
durance is the horse to breed to for all Of
the one that has one or two unsound
crosses in his pedigree, though he may
be what is called a sound horse, with I'M
sound crosses that will cause him to
transmit unsOundness. 1t is understood
that an unsound horse, or one that is liza
BILE to become unsound, is, comparatively
speaking. worthless. Yet all breeders
don't realize or consider this great point
in breeding and seem to lack iudg-
ment in breeding to horse that is very
sure to transmit unsoundness rather than
TO one that is sure to transmit soundness.
"A bad cross is sure to show itself, and,
too, when least expected it comes out,
and very much stronger in the third or
fourth remove than in the first.
For example, take the Hambletonan
and Star cross. The first cross gave
great speed, the greatest then known at
the trotting gait, and it caused many to
be blind to the bad qualities Of the cross.
Speed is desirable, but in getting it, sound
ness, size, good color and a pleasan. dis
position should not be sacrificed for I'M
soundness, lack Of size, poor color, with
bad marks and dangerous disposition,
as it was in the Hambletonian and Star
cross. Hambetonian was a sound horse,
having the very best of feet and limbs.
These he inherited from his ancestors
back for several generations; he had a
kind, pleasant disposition, which he in
herited from Bellfounder, the sire of his
dam. In color he was bay, as was his
sire and grand-sire; his dam was bay,
his grand-dam and great-grand-dam were
dark bays or brown. 1t is claimed (and
1t has not been proved to the contrary
that all Of Hambletonians colts were
bay or brown.
American Star, the sire of the Star
mares, was small, light chestnut or sor-
rel horse, with a white strip in the face
and white hind feet, and, 90, with shaky
feet and limbs. He was quite fast for his
day (record 2:l5). He was prepotent
sire, AS he transmitted his qualities with
great uniformity to his sons and daugh-
tiers.
Hambletonian transmitted his color to
his sons and daughters, but he could not
always his good feet and limbs. One
writer in speaking of the Star Handle
tsnians says "they are shaky in their fore
legs, in many cases over on their knees,
have thin hoofs, and are often subject
to unsound feet. How general is the
complaint that this one or that one has
suffered in his (their) feet. How almost
universal as compared with other lines
descended from Abdallah and Messen-
ger" Though Hambletonian transmit